Throughout this disclosure including in the claims, the term “wood” is used as a noun to denote the hard, fibrous substance which composes most of the stem and branches of a tree or shrub, and as an adjective to denote “made of wood” or “wooden.”
Throughout this disclosure including in the claims, the expression that an object (e.g., a metal insert) is an “elongated” object denotes that the object has a longitudinal axis and has substantially greater (typically, much greater) size (length) along the longitudinal axis than along any direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
Fence posts made of wood, plastic, or metal are conventionally used as elements of fences. It is also known to use a fence post assembly, including a plurality of elements assembled together (typically by a user as a step of fence installation), in place of a fence post (e.g., a fence post made of wood).
A typical wood fence post has a number of desirable attributes, including that it is easy to install (e.g., using simple, conventional fence installation methods) and inexpensive. However, a wood fence post (when it has been installed as an element of a typical fence) is typically subject to rotting or other deterioration, mainly due to chemical reaction of the fence post wood with dirt and water to which it is exposed (and other environmental factors). The deterioration typically causes the post to lose strength (and/or to warp) over time after installation, until the amount of strength loss and/or warping become unacceptable in the sense that the post needs to be replaced or reinforced.
Typical installation of a conventional wood fence post includes a step of anchoring the post in concrete, followed by attachment of other fence structure (e.g., fence rails) to the anchored post. The portion of the installed post above the concrete anchor is subject to the earliest and most rapid rotting and/or other deterioration, due to interaction of exposed wood with soil and water and other environmental factors.
One conventional method for reinforcing an installed, deteriorated conventional wooden post is to pound a reinforcing part (e.g., a metal part) into the earth (or into concrete or the like which anchors the post) and against the post until the part is positioned to support the deteriorated post.
The inventor of the present invention has recognized that there is a need for a substitute for a conventional wood fence post, where the substitute is designed and structured so as not to be subject to unacceptable loss of strength (and/or unacceptable warping) due to rotting or other deterioration after installation (or to have a substantially longer expected useful life after installation than does a conventional wood post, before becoming subject to unacceptable strength loss and/or warping due to deterioration). The inventor has also recognized that such a substitute is desirably a pre-assembled, simple structure (not requiring assembly by the user before or during installation) which is ready for easy installation by the user (e.g., installation in the same manner as conventionally employed to install a conventional wood fence post), and is preferably inexpensive to manufacture (relative to more complex fence post structures and fence post structures including more expensive materials).
Some conventional fence post equipment undesirably requires user assembly before or during installation. For example, one such conventional product includes a metal frame and wooden cladding which must be bolted or otherwise fastened to the frame by the user during installation.